The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1887-04-08

tue call Oh lle stranger
: AS he seated himself b, side the berth the
: sick man fixed his brilliant eyes upon him
and said calmly:
captain, am dyingr
II hope not, my dear sir this dreadful gale
has weakened you. 1t is all over now, and
you will soon he better"
No, captain" he repeated, II am dying
The tempest, know, is over; so is that othe r
tempest in my breast The ship has long
been tossed and beaten about by the fury of
the waves, but it has been sunshine and calm
compared with that tempest, captain But
1t is all over now, for | have forgiven him
he has long been in the grave-but | have
forgiven him
My grandfather thought he was delirious,
but second look at the deep intelligence of
his eye and the smiling calmness of his feat
ures forbade the cowclusion. He gazed at
him moment with mingled compassion and
curiosity, anxious to learn something of a his
tory the closing scene of which was SO dark
and mysterious, but unwilling to ask it. His
look was Interpreted, and the stranger con-
tlnued:
Il told you | was Il sailor. OF thirty five
years have not spent one upon the land
But this was not my choice. Like a ship,
captain, my supports were knocked from
under me- and was launched upon the ocean.
My father was an English merchant in CadiZ,
exclusively engaged in navigation. He law
ishly provided for my education. Having
traversed the halls of science, l left Oxford
and returned to Spain at the age of20 This
| first year of freedom from school spent in
rambling over the mountains of that enchant-
ed country. In deep inland dell shut out
! from the world, where the earth was always
green and the sky always blue, met one day,
beautiful young shcpherdess-and loved
| her.
Il will not describe her charms, captain, for
you have been young, and a heart that has
loved needs not to be told that to the eye of
true affection its object has no defects.
| ca My father learned my secret-but knew
ii not. | had life long secret afleTward,
which he never learned He came to me one
morning, smiled and said
My son, do YOU want to go to Cuba?"
II eagerly answered in the affirmative, for
it had been cherished but hitherto forbid
den passion with me to travel.
lone of my vessels sails Tomorrow lie
said, and You may GO
This short interval allowed me no time to
bid farewell TO my shepherdess, who was
fifty miles distant, nor even to inform her of
my departure, but said aloud: III soon be
back, and many other consultations | wills
pefed to my heart the next day While bound
ing over the Atlantic.
The ship arrived in good time at Havana,
discharged her cargo, reloaded and sailed for
Calcutta | was prisoner in my fathers
ship and for five long years | was kept from
home-as if all the waters of the ocean could
wash out my love!
II escaped at length from the prison ship
while lying at Rio and took passage in a
French bark for the Guadalquiycr No cir
cumnayigatOr of the globe was ever So long
as that voyage. | strained my eyes every
day watching tor Gibraltar, which | knew
was thousand ofmilcs off; and every night
dreamed Ufmuunlain rivulets, snowy flOcks
and Ina.
Arriving at last at Seville, hastened over
the Nevada and sought the sunny dell where
my affections had so long nestled and there
found that the idol ofmy heart was the wife
of an Andalusan shepherd She had been
told that | had deserted her, and afterwards |
that | was dead. | did not weep, for my
heart was turned TO stone. My father said |
!, shall never know of this victory !" did |
not go to see him it was wicked, | know, but |
burning with the spirit of revenge, turned |
again to the sea and never saw him more. |
am faint, captain and cannot prolong my
task. In six months was master of fast |
sailing Vessel-you have seen that vessel, cap
tain, but never i'll port, and have often seen |
you, and knew your name twenty years ago |
But no matter about that. My father con
tinued to freight his ships and send them TO |
different parts of the world-but he never
knew that | superintendent II large part of his |
business, and that many of his cargoes found |
sale in ports to which they had never been |
consigned. His agents sometimes failed to
report.
Il have said enough, captain before to-
morrow's sun sets | shall be in the cayerns
of the deep. But have forgiven him and do
not complain. have fortune in the Bank
of England, but with it is deposited n will |
and the orphan son of Ina is my heir You
have been kind to me, captain, and in token
OF my gratitude | beg you accept my watch |
and cutlass and this paper, which you will |
folded scrap of paper, which my grandfather
put into his pocket.
Morning dawned-but the strangers eyes
did not open upon it-they were closed for
ever In the afternoon the Burial Service
at Sea- that most solemn of sea scenes,
was performed, and the shrouded body of the
pirate, with gentle plunge, broke the CLASSY
surface of the ocean, and sank swiftly to the
mysterious depths.
1t was many hours afterwards that my
grandfather bethought himself of the paper
in his pocket. He opened it and read as fol-
lows
Sati' i-a+'E-'H Tut eastern point OF NAN
tucket, at high water mark, is a tall, sharp cliff
quarter league due west from that cliff is a
large, round stone, and near the stone thorn
bush. That bush grows in a very rich soil
The duties of his station kept my grand
father long time abroad, and when lie was
in Boston about two years afterwards, and
having few days of leisure, he was think
ing about acting upon the hints of the enip-
NAUTICAL paper, when his eye happened to fall
on the following paragraph in the old Boston
Messenger:
WONDERFUL DIsCovERY-As John Rogers
was breaking piece of pasture ground on the
east shore of Nantucket about month ago his
powshare turned up stout thornbush, stick
Ing to the roots of which Mr. Rogers esped
several Spanish dollars. Upon this he went to
digging Justify, and did not give up till he had
hauled out coins, chiefly Spanish douboons, of
more than S23 600 value No doubt it was
buried by Capt. Kidd or some of his pirate kin.
No doubt" thought grandfather, as he
put down the paper with slight nervousness.
In week he was again facing the storms of
the ocean, enrichng his employers by his
skill and toll, till inirmitieS drove him high
and dry on the shore. There, in due time he
died of old age, leaving little to his family,
except the pirates cutlass. which three gene
rations of boys have used in the juvenile
trainings and which, rusted and blunted,
may now be seen in the office of his great.
grandson a lawyer of New York